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FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2530
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9713
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 5596
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2166
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0001
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0027
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 9997
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3798
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0213
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE 6907
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 5171
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 5180
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ EPA OIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0864
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 000041 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/SECC STERN, OES/EGC TALLEY, EAP/CM 
WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ SUTLEY 
NSC FOR LOI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2020 
TAGS: SENV PREL KGHG AS
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA FOCUS ON COPENHAGEN ACCORD, CHINA 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 3079 
     ¶B. 09 CANBERRA 1070 
     ¶C. WONG-STERN JAN 14 TELCON 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Daniel A. Clune, Reasons 1.4(B)( 
D). 
 
¶1. (C/NF) Summary: Australia is prepared to notify the UNFCC 
Secretariat that it associates itself with the Copenhagen 
Accord and to submit its targets or actions by January 31. 
China and the U.S. should be the first countries to take such 
action, in the Australian view, in order to shore up support 
for the Accord.  Looking forward, Australia sees three 
strategies to move toward a comprehensive global climate 
change regime: continuing to work in the UNFCCC, moving the 
work to the Major Economies Forum (MEF), or working with 
Mexico on a Friends of the Chair approach.  PM Rudd has a 
concrete action plan, which he was prepared to propose to the 
Secretary during her postponed visit that focuses on joint 
U.S.-Australia planning on how best to approach China.  If 
China fails to associate itself with the Accord, Parkinson 
said, it would seriously jeopardize passage of Rudd's 
domestic climate legislation.  End Summary. 
 
THE WAY FORWARD 
--------------- 
 
2.(C/NF) DCM met with Martin Parkinson, Secretary of the 
Department of Climate Change (DCC), and Jo Evans, Acting 
Deputy Secretary, on January 15 to deliver points in ref. A 
and discuss Australia's diplomatic engagement in support of 
the Copenhagen Accord.  Parkinson said that Australia was in 
contact with Special Envoy Stern and engaged in a series of 
small group discussions with approximately 30 countries 
involved in the negotiation of the Accord.  DCC Deputy 
Secretary Howard Bamsey is currently on travel in Europe 
discussing strategies to speed this process and will stop in 
New York for meetings with U.S. officials. 
 
¶3. (C/NF) In Parkinson's view, there are three ways to 
approach this year's negotiations.  The first would be to 
continue to push in the UNFCCC, but the Secretariat is 
uncooperative and this strategy would fail.  The second is to 
move negotiations into a forum like the MEF, which Australia 
strongly supports, but would require a strategy to move any 
MEF-level agreement back into the overall UNFCCC and deal 
with the ability of obstructionist countries to block 
consensus.  The third would be to work with Mexico to set up 
another "Friends of the Chair" group (as with COP-15) and use 
that smaller group to push progress.  Parkinson said 
Australia favors working with Mexico on a small group 
consensus, but is concerned about whether Mexico is prepared 
to take on the leadership. 
 
RUDD'S CONCRETE PROPOSAL 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C/NF) Parkinson confirmed that PM Kevin Rudd had been 
looking forward to presenting a concrete proposal on how to 
engage China on climate change to the Secretary during her 
planned visit to Australia (postponed due to the Haiti 
earthquake).  Though not finalized, the plan would focus on 
joint analysis of benefits to China of early adoption of 
Qjoint analysis of benefits to China of early adoption of 
clean energy and emissions reduction and developing a common 
strategy to engage the Chinese leadership.  Parkinson said 
that, in his prior experience as Secretary of the Treasury, 
China would only do what it saw in its own interest, so 
demonstrating that early action would be in China's own best 
interest is critical. 
 
CHINA AND PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR AUSTRALIAN LEGISLATION 
 
CANBERRA 00000041  002 OF 002 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5. (C/NF) If China fails to associate itself with and 
inscribe its pledges to the Accord soon, Parkinson said, it 
would seriously jeopardize passage of Rudd's domestic climate 
legislation (ref B).  Even if the U.S., EU and others moved 
quickly, Australians would not support climate change action 
unless China signed a pledge alongside everyone else. 
Parkinson said the Department expressed concern to Chinese 
diplomats over the lack of ambition in the PRC's stated goal 
of a 40-45% reduction in carbon intensity by 2020.  Following 
the Copenhagen meetings, the Australian Ambassador in Beijing 
urged China to follow up with action on its statements in 
support of the Accord. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (C/NF)  Parkinson and Evans told us that Rudd's concrete 
proposal is still very much a work in progress.  We will be 
looking for opportunities to elicit further details as it is 
finalized and to conduct preliminary discussions on the idea 
with the Prime Minister before the Secretary's rescheduled 
visit. 
 
BLEICH